More than 60 million PET bottles recycled in 2012, says Petcore Europe

PET is the largest plastic material recycled in Europe, with the equivalent of more than 60 billion bottles recycled in 2012, according to Petcore Europe, a non-profit European trade association based in Brussels.

More than 60 million PET bottles recycled in 2012, says Petcore Europe

Petcore Europe Chairman Roberto Bertaggia said, “Despite the poor economic situation in the European region, the consumption of PET bottles is still showing clear trends of penetration into new market segments through innovative packaging and the recognized capability of PET to be recycled. From a sustainability perspective, our industry is thrilled to have achieved an overall collection rate in 2012 of more than 52% of all post-consumer PET bottles available in the region.”

“With the exception of two members, all EU Member States managed to achieve PET recycling rates above the Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive target of 22.5% for plastics.” he added.

Casper van den Dungen, PET Chairman at Plastics Recyclers Europe, underlined that “The overall European collection of PET bottles to 1.68 metric tons (mt) reflecting an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous year. This has helped to ease the overcapacity situation of recyclers with an average plant utilization of 80%.”

“In 2012 the fibers market was still the single largest end-market for recycled PET, but strong growth in the sheet and bottle market are putting these three markets at similar levels.” said Casper van den Dungen.

Plastics Recyclers Europe, a member of Petcore Europe, is the professional representative body of plastics recyclers in Europe.